Hash brown potatoes, composite products comprising a plurality of potato shreds browned in a pan, have been a traditional breakfast favorite. Unfortunately, the time required to cook the potatoes, shred the potatoes and brown the potatoes is far greater than the amount of time most people have available to cook breakfast. There is, therefore, a significant need for a more convenient version of the traditional hash brown potato; a version which retains the organoleptic qualities prized by consumers in the has brown potato made by the traditional process but which also allows the person preparing the product to do so more quickly and conveniently.
One possible approach to a convenient hash brown potato product would be to prepare hash brown potato ingredients which could be quickly assembled and fried by the consumer. For example, potato shreds for hash brown potatoes could be packaged and sold in a frozed or refrigerated state or, the potato shreds could be molded into a patty shade and sold in a frozen or refrigerated state. In either case, these products could be pan-fried by the consumer with a resulting reduction in preparation time and effort. Unfortunately, however, even the reduced amount of time and effort required to make hash brown potatoes by these methods would still be excessive for many consumers.
Another possible approach to a convenient hash brown potato product, and the approach followed in the present invention, is to provide the consumer with a potato patty which can be simply removed from its packaging and placed into a conventional pop-up type toaster, wherein it is heated to serving temperature. This approach would provide the typical consumer with an extremely convenient and quickly prepared hash brown potato product since the ubiguitious pop-up toaster can be a highly effective heating device for small food items.
Notwithstanding the attractiveness of pop-up toaster heating for hash brown potato patties, products suitable for reheating in a pop-up toaster have not achieved wide commercial distribution. A principal reason for the lack of success in making a suitable toaster hash brown product lies primarily with the fat content of hash brown potatoes. In order to provide the organoleptic effect of traditional hash brown potatoes, about 10% to 20% of edible fat must be present in the patty. These fat concentrations in the patty, however, pose a significant problem when the patty is reheated in a pop-up type toaster because fat can drip into the toaster.
In the conventional pop-up type toaster, the bread or other product to be toasted is inserted into a slot at the top of the toaster, lowered into proximity with the toaster heating elements and when the toasting cycle is completed the toasted product is discharged through the same slot at the top of the toaster. Since toasted products are inserted and removed from the top of the toaster, any crumbs or other materials which fall off of the toasted product remain in the crumb tray at the bottom of the toaster until the toaster is cleaned. Also, if the product to be toasted contains fat at the product surface, fat which drips off of the product will remain in the toaster and may present a smoke and fire hazard during subsequent toasting cycles. It is this dripping of fat into the toaster which poses a substantial difficulty in making a satisfactory toaster hash brown potato product.
Several patents have addressed the problem of making fried products which may be heated in a pop-up toaster. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,419,375, issued to Willard et al, discloses a method for making toaster hash brown potato patties with a reduced amount of oil drip. The reduced drip was accomplished by the use of a natural potato binder having retrograded amylose which inhibited the penetration of fat. The reduction in drip can also be important in other toaster potato products. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,004, issued to Finkel, discloses a frozen toaster French fried potato employing a high amylose ingredient which gives limited oil absorption and thereby prevents drip in a pop-up toaster. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,292, issued to Shatila et al, discloses a French fried potato product made by extruding and then frying a potato dough; a product which is said to produce no drip when placed frozen into a pop-up toaster and reheated.
A variety of other methods have been employed to reduce the fat content of fried products but their effectiveness in making frozen products which may be reheated in a pop-up toaster has not been disclosed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,383, issued to Kanaga, discloses an apparatus employing a drum with infra-red heating tubes therein which can cook French fried potatoes (which have been partially deep fat fried) by application of infra-red heat energy, thereby producing a reduced fat product. Also, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,353,962, issued to Smith, discloses a method for making low fat potato chips by passing potato slices fried to 5-20% moisture through a radiant heating zone. Neither of these patents, however, disclose a frozen hash brown potato product which is suitable for use in a pop-up toaster.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hash brown potato patty which may be reheated from a frozen state to serving temperature in a conventional pop-up toaster.
It is also an object of the present invention to produce a hash brown potato patty which when placed in a frozen state into a pop-up type toaster and then heated to serving temperature will not drip substantial amounts of fat into the toaster.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a hash brown potato patty which contains at least 10% fat, but which does not drip a substantial amount of fat when heated to serving temperature in a pop-up toaster.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a hash brown potato patty which will not fall apart when removed from a pop-up toaster.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a toaster hash brown potato patty which has a brown, crisp surface which compares favorably in organoleptic terms with hash brown potatoes made by the traditional pan-frying method.